Tone City Big Rumble

The Tone City Big Rumble is a multi-function overdrive pedal with an independent clean boost circuit built into the same box. Tone City describes it as producing "a wide sonic palette of rich, responsive low-to-medium tones", a mix between clean and crunchy gain flavors rather than a high-gain distortion¹. Pedal of the Day reviewed it in February 2024 and placed its sound "in the Dumble ballpark, with not too much gain, and a wonderfully saturated mid range, without the nasally TS tone"².

It sits in Tone City's 2-in-1 lineup of combined effect pedals, alongside the Heavenly Lake Delay Reverb and the Holy Aura distortion boost, which Pedal of the Day covered in the same series of reviews³⁴. Like the Holy Aura, the Big Rumble carries its own separate clean boost circuit alongside the main effect¹. The enclosure is purple, which Pedal of the Day called "a cool aesthetic that will have folks asking about 'that purple pedal on your board'"².

What it does to your sound

The overdrive side is aimed at low-to-medium gain territory. Tone City's own description is of a tone that "transforms" your signal with a blend of clean and crunchy gain flavors¹. Pedal of the Day's reviewer heard it as Dumble-adjacent: moderate gain, a saturated midrange, and none of the nasal quality associated with Tube Screamer-style circuits².

The boost side is a clean circuit that Tone City says provides "just enough gain without compromising the high" end¹. The two sections can be run together or separately, and Tone City's spec sheet gives separate output levels for each mode: 10dB with the boost on only, and -4dB with the overdrive on only¹⁵.

On the boost's maximum amount, Tone City's spec sheet lists 10dB for boost-only operation⁵, while Pedal of the Day describes the boost section as providing "up to +20dB of clean boost to your signal"².

The controls: Attack, Clean and the Jazz/Rock switch

The Big Rumble's control set goes beyond the usual Level, Tone and Drive knobs with two extra shaping tools²¹.

The Attack knob is the distinctive one. Tone City says it "enables you to adjust the overall fatness of your tone", from a refined, punchy attack at one end to "a massive wall of sound that has distortion elements intertwined" at the other¹. Pedal of the Day describes it as a 7-position midrange filter, which gives you a way to place the midrange bump where your amp and guitar need it².

The Clean control works like a blend knob: instead of a fixed clean mix, you dial in how much of your untouched signal sits under the overdrive². The Jazz/Rock toggle is a simpler choice. Tone City describes the two positions as "a bright shimmer or a smooth, creamy full-bodied" character¹, and Pedal of the Day frames them as less drive versus more drive².

Power and connections

The Big Rumble runs on a DC 9V adapter only; Tone City lists no battery option¹. Current draw is 18mA, which is light enough for any pedalboard power supply¹. Input impedance is 1MΩ and output impedance is 10KΩ¹.

What reviewers said

Pedal of the Day's February 2024 review was positive about the pedal's flexibility:

The same reviewer highlighted the independent boost and the Attack control as the features that set it apart, noting the boost "can be used independently of the drive section"².

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